Wondering of Wonderland
by PaddySnuffles
Summary: Alice is back from Wonderland, and can't help but wonder whether it was all a dream... Based on the last scene of SyFy's Alice. Here be spoilers. Complete for now, may be added to in the future.
1. Wondering

**A/N: I was happily writing away the next chapter of 'In a Time of Magic' when a plot bunny wearing a waistcoat popped into my head. He insisted so much that in order to get him to leave, I had to write him down. So here we are. My first one-shot. :)**

_Summary: Alice is back from Wonderland, and can't help but wonder whether it was all a dream... One-shot based on the last scene of SyFy's Alice. Here be spoilers._

SPOILER ALERT – If you haven't yet seen SyFy's rendition of Alice in Wonderland please be aware this story is about the last scene of the miniseries, and gives away key plot points.

**Disclaimer:** Although I was named after Lewis Caroll's famous heroine, I do not own Alice in Wonderland (except for a nifty reprint copy with original drawings and text I got at the local bookstore years ago). I'm not sure who owns the rights, but it aint me.

* * *

Alice had never felt so confused in her life.

Had she really been to Wonderland? Or was it just some concussion-induced dream? Even if it was, she knew she could no longer search for her dad. It was something she had to let go, lest it drive her mad.

Mad....

Hatter came into her mind. Messy dark hair, happy-go-lucky smile, warm dark eyes full of mischief, hands twirling that stupid hat of his.

Her heart clenched.

He was weird, and kind, and just so full of life. How could her mind make up someone so _real_? The thought of him never having existed cut through her heart. He couldn't be just a dream, he just couldn't. Wasn't the pain of losing him proof of that? The empty, gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach she got whenever she thought of never seeing him again, or arguing about some random, insignificant little thing?

How could you miss someone so much if they had never existed?

Was that possible?

Maybe that's why he hadn't asked her to stay, hadn't tried to follow. Because he couldn't. A figment of imagination only exists in the head of their creator after all.

Alice wasn't really aware of how long she was in the hospital. Staying in a bed all day long messed up her sense of time. Maybe she'd been there a week. Or was it a day? She didn't really keep track. Mourning over her father and the loss of Hatter took up most of her attention. Alice didn't show it, of course, she wouldn't cry when someone was with her. Last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a white padded room again.

Eventually her mom had taken her home. The day after she got back to her own house she quietly got to work on clearing out her father's things, her map, everything. Her mother questioned her about it, worried, but all Alice was able to reply was that she wouldn't be needing those things anymore. What she really meant was she couldn't bear to look at them. Not yet. Maybe once the wounds had healed, scarred over.

Picking up her copy of 'Alice in Wonderland' she thought of the times her father had read to her from the battered old book. Making up silly voices to fit each character. She thought of Hatter, and how different he was from the Hatter in the book. Yet still just as bouncy and agitated as his famous predecessor.

Her mother interrupted her thoughts, calling her insistently again to meet the construction worker. It wasn't like Alice wasn't grateful that a stranger had come to her aid. She knew how lucky she was a kind soul had found her and done something to help. But she felt a twinge of resentment towards this David. It was illogical to blame the poor man, but she felt that somehow it was his fault Hatter wasn't with her right now.

Non-enthusiastically Alice put the book down, and with a sigh made her way to the apartment's entrance.

Alice made her anticlimactic appearance, looked up... and forgot to breathe.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was in his arms, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, clinging to him for dear life. He was real. He was here. Now she'd found him again she was never gonna let him go, revelling in the warmth and strength his arms provided. She heard him softly breathe out "Finally!".

Alice said the only thing her mind was able to at the moment.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

She felt him draw her closer, tighten the hug. A non-verbal reply of '_Me too_'.

They kissed as though they hadn't seen each other in weeks. Maybe they hadn't. The time apart was unimportant. What mattered was they were together again. They broke apart for air, staring into each other's eyes, drinking in the feeling of being together again.

"I missed you," he murmured, and they were at it again.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Meh? Let me know what you think!**


	2. Oysterland

**A/N: Hatter's side of what happened. My attempt at filling in the blank moments from when Alice left Wonderland to when she met... ahem... David. ;)**

**A/N 2: This is totally unrelated to the story, but... Is anyone else not able to edit their profile page? Mine used to change its format by itself, but now it won't even let me add/delete stuff from it... :P**

**A/N 3: Happy Victoria Day! ^.^**

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own Alice in Wonderland. Although I do now own a copy of the series DVD! :D I know. I'm such a geek. –puffs out chest proudly-

***===========xXx============***

Hatter sighed in disappointment as he watched Alice being dragged away by one of the Looking Glass operators. Why hadn't he taken the chance to tell her? After seeing her and Jack hugging he'd lost the confidence he had barely manage to bring up, he supposed. She'd given him the perfect oportunity.

_You want me to stay?_

As she was led to the portal between their worlds Alice looked back at him, a mix of emotions shifting through her face in a matter of seconds – don't leave me, I don't wanna go, can I change my mind please?, why aren't you up here with me you dolt?, I don't wanna do this alone...

And then with a surprised yelp she was gone. Hatter felt his stomach burn, as if someone had suddenly materialized a vat full of acid inside it. His heart had apparently forgotten how to beat properly, because all he felt was it squeezing painfully, almost unbearably so. Looking at Jack he realised his rival was surprised to see him. Moving closer, eyebrows slightly bent to a frown the young King of Wonderland crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well?" Jack Heart enquired.

"Well what?" Hatter replied, aware not many would be brave (or foolish) enough to reply to their king quite so sharply.

"Why are you here?" Jack clarified, looking slightly annoyed at Hatter's lack of understanding. Or maybe he was just annoyed at not being treated like the royalty he was. Git.

"To say good bye t' Alice of course!" Hatter snapped back.

The King gave an exasperated sigh, "I mean, why didn't you go with her, you nonce?"

"Well, I –" Hatter paused. Why _hadn't_ he gone with her? She'd given him more than enough hints she wanted him to... Hadn't she?

Ah, crap.

Jack was right.

He really was an idiot.

Jack's stern look of disapproval melted into a sympathetic smile as he noticed the crestfallen look that came over the young tea-maker's face.

"Come on, we'll get you sorted out before you go gallivanting after her. I'm afraid your clothes wouldn't be very discreet in the Oyster world."

He led a gaping Hatter past the crowd, into his castle, and to a large room that looked more like a gigantic wardrobe than a room.

"First things first, we'll need to get you looking like an Oyster," Jack mused, quickly rifling through some clothes before moving on to another section when he didn't find whatever he was looking for.

Where in Wonderland _are_ we?" Hatter asked, wide eyed.

"The Wardrobe Room," Jack replied matter-of-factly, "It has clothes from all over the Oyster world so our agents could go Oyster hunting without calling attention to themselves."

The two spent the next few minutes in silence, each picking up some clothing and setting it side for Hatter to try on later.

"What about this shirt?" Hatter eventually asked, holding up a colourful shirt with large flowers printed on it, "It's kinda close to me style."

Jack stared at the shirt for a few seconds.

"Er... No. I was thinking of something more... like this," he held up a plain dark brown shirt.

"But it's so..."

"Oysterish? That's the _point_ Hatter."

The next couple of hours were filled with debating on what Hatter would and would not take with him. He eventually agreed to wear the plain shirt, just as long as he could take that nice light brownish cream jacket that kinda looked like his old one. And Jack in turn acquiesced to a blue and green striped shirt once Hatter swore he wouldn't wear it with any other stamped clothing.

A few arguments over hairstyles and hats, and a quick explanation of the most used technologies later, Jack proclaimed Hatter fit to enter the Looking Glass.

The only thing missing was his alias. Apparently Oysters did not have names such as Hatter or Mad March.

"Let's just call you... David. It's common enough and not too hard to remember," Jack said as he looked over Hatter one last time, "You ready?"

"Not really," Hatter – now David - replied with a nervous laugh, "But 'S not like I 'ave much choice in the matter."

***===========xXx============***

The trip through the Looking Glass itself was rather quick, and before he knew it Hatter found himself being hurled out of the inter-dimensional portal, feeling like someone had simply pushed him (with a lot of force) through a doorway. He used his hands to brace the impact, wincing slightly as the shock of hitting the ground bruised the tendons on his wrists rather painfully.

He rose to his feet with a slight groan, wiping his skinned hands on his clothes and hissing at the stinging sensation that followed.

He looked around the dreary room he'd been sent to only to find Alice passed out near where he himself had landed. After some failed attempts to wake her Hatter decided it was best to get someone who knew what they were doing.

He dug through the bag of things Jack had given him, and fished out the thin block of plastic and metal the King had quickly taught him how to use in case of an emergency. Now, what numbers should he press again? Something with a six, or maybe a nine... Ah, yes. 911. He pressed in the numbers and watched as they appeared on the screen and held the little device to his ear, feeling rather silly about it.

"911, what's your emergency?" a slightly bored voice said after a couple of long beeps.

"Uh, hi. I found a girl passed out at this construction site... And she won't wake up. I think she might need a doctor..."

"Alright Sir. Are you currently at 93rd Street building number 11489?" The voice replied.

Good question.

"Maybe. I think so. I'm... er... New in town. Haven't quite gotten 'round to learnin' addresses yet."

"Alright, we're having an ambulance dispatched right away."

***===========xXx============***

The ambulance had turned out to be a loud white motorized vehicle with bright flashy lights.

It was hard to miss. (Which, Hatter mused, was probably the point.)

They'd gotten Alice hooked up to a handful of quietly beeping machinery. It reminded him far too much of the Oyster collection system, but Hart had promised they didn't have anything like that in Oysterland, so he let the healers do their job, keeping a close eye on them nonetheless.

They let him squish into the back since she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger of "crashing". When they arrived at their destination some people in all-blue clothing wheeled the metal table they's strapped Alice to into a building, and one of them told Hatter to go to the Waiting Room. It turned out the room was really just an area with lots of chairs and a machine Hatter recognised as a Tevilision (or something like that) due to Jack's quick description. Luckily atter didn't have to wait long – about five or ten minutes later one of the blue healers came out to let him know Alice was fine (apart from a mild concussion). Hatter went to sit by her and keep her company as the healers contected Alice's mum.

Bloody hell. He hadn't thought about that.

Ah, well, too late now.

***===========xXx============***

She'd been surprisingly pleasant.

Then again, most mums _would_ look favourably toward anyone who helped their kid in a time of need, Hatter supposed. He'd gone along with everyone's assumption that he was one of the construction workers, and had come back to grab his jacket when he'd found Alice passed out.

After ensuring Alice was cared for he'd rented a room at the nearest hotel, fumbling with the wad of papers Jack had given him. He apologized for his awkwardness, which the clerk thought to be due to the difference in currency. For whatever reason people kept thinking he was British.

It was maddening to wait for Alice to wake up (pun intended). Once she did, he asked Carol if it'd be okay if he visited her. To his everlasting relief the woman agreed, and he eagerly made arrangements to visit once she was back home.

***===========xXx============***

The day after her release from hospital David Hatter was allowed into the small apartment by a cheery Carol Hamilton. She shouted to Alice that David had arrived, and proceeded to explain to him that Alice had been a bit down since she'd woken up. When Alice didn't immediately join them Carol called to her again, and Hatter felt his heart skip a beat when she replied.

Oh, dear sweet White Queen, how he'd missed her.

Their incessant good-natured bickering, her laugh, the annoyed huffs she gave when he gave her a cheeky reply or played with his hat...

She didn't look all that excited as she appeared around the corner, and his heart clenched in fear for a second – had he misunderstood? But when she raised her head and saw him his fears dissoveld away. To his immense relief, her face broke into a brilliant smile. He heard her half shout-half gasp his name, and next thing he knew he was having the life hugged out of him by an armful of Alice. He grinned like an idiot, and the only thought going through his mind was 'Finally!'. Alice turned her head so her mouth was by his ear, hot breath tickling his neck.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she whispered.

He couldn't agree more.

**A/N: So, what do you think? :)**


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